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http://www.mayanpigments.com/ Mayan Blue is a 2000-year-old, lustrous turquoise blue that can be seen in ancient Mayan ruins, even to this day. Until relatively recently, no one knew how they made such a vivid paint so resistant to weather, extremes of pH, chemical solvents and biodegradation. Research conducted largely by PhD student Lori Polette revealed why the mix of organic dye from the indigo plant and inorganic clay is so long-lasting. The clay has a fibrous channel-containing structure. Normally, these channels hold water. What the Mayans did was heat the clay in order to remove the water in the channels. They then mixed it with the indigo. The newly-emptied channels filled themselves with indigo and the result was a paint made from clay which was supersaturated with blue dye. Nano-technology in action, thousands of years ago! Our "hero" Lori Polette took her discoveries and, with the help of angel investors, founded a new company, Mayan Pigments Inc. Polette's pa...

Japan offers an innovation to tooth brushing, with a 31 flavor set of novelty toothpastes for $9 per flavor or $160 for a full set. The toothpastes use only all-natural and plant-derived ingredients and is being imported by entreprenuer Tracy Holland at her website www.breathpalette.com What happend was she was travelling in Tokyo and she ran across them in the store. The clerk told her the products were so popular they could not keep them in stock! According to Tracy, the best selling flavors so far include: white peach, cola, and bitter chocolate. In Japan, they are rose, white peach and Kyoto tea. Here's the complete list of 31 flavors: Amajio, Tropical Pineapple, Peppermint, Freshness Yogurt, Green Tea, Rose, Monkey Banana, Honey, Kiwi, Cafe au Lait, Plum, Apple, Vanilla, Curry, Strawberry, Orange, Kyoto Green Tea, White Peach, Ume, Lavender, Darjeeling Tea, Cinnamon, Kyube, Lemon, Bitter Chocolate, Blueberry, Caramel, Espresso, Grapefruit, Pumpkin, and Cola. There is also a fl...

Ever wonder what neat name to give your most recent blend of brown micas? How about Electric Mud? Or Moondance, or Coppertunity, or Currant or Jolt? If your brain needs a jumpstart on color names and color trends, check out The Color Marketing Group (CMG). Every year, this trade association gets together and goes through a five-step process to come up with the palettes of the future. Fortune 500's and others eagerly await CMG's forecasts for what colors will be hot for the next one to three years. Not just for cosmetics, but for everything retail such as furniture, clothing, consumer electronics . . . Remember 2005? Here is their predicted color directions for that year: The spa experience is adding a spiritual nature to color, resulting in a fresh, rejuvenating and clean palette. In fashion, the resulting color palette included Clay Pot (spice brown), Good Earth (rock red), Thistle Bloom (dusky purple), Late Night Blue (dark blue) and Sulpher (neutral khaki). And . . . what...

I'm always attracted to news stories about people who start up a boutique paint company. Maybe because in my heart of hearts, I'd love to do the same! This month, there was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle which showcased two Portland, Oregon women who started out as a "Custom Finishes" company (the kind of people who come in and paint your interiors in interesting ways) and ended up making their own line of paints. You can visit their website at www.yolocolorhouse.com to read more about their mission, their products, and their prices. Reading the article reminded me of 2004, when I got it in my head to write a book about natural paints, and so promptly tore through the house testing out ideas. My family was very patient as I painted my bedroom using a natural paint made from curdled milk. This required gallons of milk and bags of lemons. The result was very close to exactly what I wanted: a completely flat wall finish, with a soft yellow/beige/coral hue tha...

What are Organic Colorants? . . . How about I start by explaining what they are NOT. I get lots of queries from well-meaning customers who want to make their products with only organic ingredients. They want to make sure they only purchase natural, organic pigments from TKB Trading! "No," I explain to them "You really don't!" The confusion comes from the use of the word "organic". In the natural products world, "organic" refers to agricultural products (like fruits, veggies, oils, etc), which have been produced in a sustainable system of farming without the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. (here is a hyperlink which defines organic: http://www.organic-ingredients.com/Organic/faq.html#faq1 ) Agricultural products can definitely be used to color things (example: blackberry juice is great at staining your shirt), so you could definitely use certified-organic color additives in non-cosmetic products such as soap or potpourri. Howeve...

Recently, I had a Mom from Florida call to order our mineral makeup kit for her daughter. The daughter wanted to explain the making of cosmetics in a science exhibit for her school. Brilliant! In addition to selling them the kit, I immediately directed them to this very excellent, non-commerical website about pigments, Pigments Through The Ages: http://webexhibits.org/pigments/ This site has lots of pretty pictures and easy-to-read historical info about pigments but it also drills down into fascinatnig details on chemical structure and manufacture. The sister sites include Causes of Color and Color http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/ , Vision and Art http://webexhibits.org/colorart/ , both wonderful sites for your budding scientist/artist.

Where I stumbled last time I was websurfing . . . Trae Bodge, a New Yorker has partnered to create a business called Three Custom Color Makeup. She started as a tiny mail order lipstick and blush biz and started going gang busters after just a year. read her technique for custom-making lipsticks at $50 a pair. Trae's business site, which www.threecustom.com . She has some very interesting information there about how to i.d your "cool vs. warm" tones, and what will look best on on you as a result. I was also nicely wow'd by her "Press" section. You can see why her business is booming -- she's got some savvy PR partners working with her, getting the company name into lots of flashy magazines. And Trae was even featured in Elle magazine in April! Be sure to visit our site at www.wholesalecolors.com (or www.tkbtrading.com ).

There is a fascinating article in the December 2005 Popular Science magazine about the invention of colored soap bubbles. You will no doubt see this unique invention on the market by next summer -- at the latest. These soap bubbles are vivid colors -- purple, pink, etc., and yet, when they burst the dyes do not stain or color. Instead, they simply disappear. Read the article to understand the science behind this, it is fascinating. FASCINATING! What's the use of this new invention? Aside from the joy of colored bubbles, and the use of colored bubbles for special events (think pink bubbles at a breast cancer awareness fundraiser), the invention is mostly a breakthrough in dye technology. For example, imagine having a sponge that leaves behind a trail of color to show you where you have wiped . . . and after a few minutes the color disappears. Or a toothpaste that colors the inside of your kid's mouth to show where they have brushed, until it disappears. Be sure to visit our site...

Interesting blurb in Business 2.0 magazine about nanotechnology as used in color cosmetics (November, 2005, pg. 36). It says that L'Oreal will release a new line of lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish in 2006. The products will look white in their packages, but when they are applied and interact with light, the makeup will shimmer with vivid colors. What's happening is that the color in the makeup will not come from dyes and pigments (as is the case now). Instead, liquid crystals will be microscopically layered in such a way that they will reflect light and thereby produce different hues. Think of how an oil slick reflects light, or a soap bubble.Wow! Be sure to visit our site at www.wholesalecolors.com (or www.tkbtrading.com ).

In our weblog, I will be posting things that I find interesting about the industries of color, crafts and color cosmetics. I also plan to post some of the more interesting questions which I get, along with my answers. Feel free to add your comments. Be sure to visit our site at www.wholesalecolors.com (or www.tkbtrading.com ).